Ranks in MI6 (James Bond)

Hi! I have been a lurker here for quite while and then decide to register anyway. So please lmk if somehow I broke rules or the topic may has been discussed before :(

I've been wondering about the ranks in MI6, clearly M is the top (unless I'm wrong? :s ). Then how about chief of staff, tanner? And Q, 00 agents, etc. Where are they in the pyramids? Who outranks who? ?:)

Thanks!

Comments

  • Asp9mmAsp9mm Over the Hills and Far Away.Posts: 7,483MI6 Agent
    M is head. Tanner is obviously his/her CoS and high up in the ranks and out ranks Bond.

    Bond doesn't outrank Q and Q doesn't outrank Bond. They are in entirely different departments. Although Q is Head of Department and so technically is higher up in the pecking order than Bond. OO agents hold the same rank and are higher than other field agents. Field agents are not high up in the ranks unless they are heads of section.
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  • CatenacciCatenacci Posts: 3MI6 Agent
    Asp9mm wrote:
    M is head. Tanner is obviously his/her CoS and high up in the ranks and out ranks Bond.

    Bond doesn't outrank Q and Q doesn't outrank Bond. They are in entirely different departments. Although Q is Head of Department and so technically is higher up in the pecking order than Bond. OO agents hold the same rank and are higher than other field agents. Field agents are not high up in the ranks unless they are heads of section.

    Thank you, thats what I was thinking too, but just based on guessing hence the question.
    it means Tanner also able to give orders to 00, can Q does the same? Has he ever done that before in boothroyd era? (None that I could remember of but who knows)
  • Asp9mmAsp9mm Over the Hills and Far Away.Posts: 7,483MI6 Agent
    Q can't really give orders to Bond as he is in a different department and nothing to do with field agents. In regards to Q's department and services like IT and weaponry, Q certainly has authority over Bond. Just as Bond would have authority over Q in the field.
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  • FiremassFiremass AlaskaPosts: 1,910MI6 Agent
    Can you explain the ranks in the film For Your Eyes Only?

    Geoffry Keen used to be Sir Frederick Grey and then became Minister of Defense. Or are they one and the same?

    Robert Brown used to be Admiral Hargreaves and later became M. Did he get promoted or is he playing a different character ?

    the Tanner character must be 2nd in command if he fills in while M is away?
    My current 10 favorite:

    1. GE 2. MR 3. OP 4. TMWTGG 5. TSWLM 6. TND 7. TWINE 8.DN 9. GF 10. AVTAK
  • BarbelBarbel ScotlandPosts: 36,053Chief of Staff
    Gray is the Minister, same character.
    Opinion is split on whether Brown' s M is Hargreaves.
    Tanner is the No.2 to M.
  • CatenacciCatenacci Posts: 3MI6 Agent
    Great information, thanks to you all :007)
  • DEFIANT 74205DEFIANT 74205 Perth, AustraliaPosts: 1,881MI6 Agent
    From the novels, we know Bond is a Commander in the Royal Navy, and that M is (or was) an Admiral. He has been seen in the film You Only Live Twice that he was wearing the uniform with a Vice Admiral's epaulettes. The cinematic character of 'Q' is based on the literary character Major Geoffrey Boothroyd.

    Technically speaking, a Commander outranks a Major. In practice, however, Major Boothroyd is not directly in Commander Bond's chain of command.
    "Watch the birdie, you bastard!"
  • Sir James MoloneySir James Moloney LondonPosts: 139MI6 Agent
    The points about the relative ranks of Admiral Sir Miles, Commander Bond and Major Boothroyd are all spot-on (Moneypenny also holds the rank of Second Officer in the WRNS according to YOLT) but it should be pointed out that those ranks are irrelevant within the structure of the SIS as it's not a military organisation. Even if Bond outranked M, M would still be in command of Bond.
    1- CR. 2- OHMSS. 3- FRWL. 4- GF. 5- DN. 6- TLD. 7- SF. 8- TSWLM. 9- GE. 10- LTK.
    11- TB. 12- OP. 13- LALD. 14- TMWTGG. 15- FYEO. 16- YOLT. 17- TND. 18- QoS.
    19- TWINE. 20- AVTAK. 21- MR. 22- DAF. 23- DAD.
  • Asp9mmAsp9mm Over the Hills and Far Away.Posts: 7,483MI6 Agent
    The points about the relative ranks of Admiral Sir Miles, Commander Bond and Major Boothroyd are all spot-on (Moneypenny also holds the rank of Second Officer in the WRNS according to YOLT) but it should be pointed out that those ranks are irrelevant within the structure of the SIS as it's not a military organisation. Even if Bond outranked M, M would still be in command of Bond.

    Spot on. Military ranks have no bearing on the hierarchy within MI6 or the Security Services.
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  • always shakenalways shaken LondonPosts: 6,287MI6 Agent
    IN Flemmings origanal books, yes Bond is a Royal Naval commander wich now holds
    a NATO grade of OF4, now when he joins the civil service, he is made a principal officer,
    wich has equivalnt NATO rank of a Captain OF5 wich out ranks a army Major. Now Q,even though he is called
    Major ,its a rank left over from his army days ,Q is for pay scale purposes a PTO (proffesional and technical officer)
    now im only assuming as he has been there years ,he is PTO4 wich (i might be wrong it was a long time ago)
    equivalant to a half colonel (LT Col) wich if he visited various bases ,would be afforded
    the courtesy and priviledges of that rank (officers mess ect) so a half colonel would not out rank a captian ,but would be equivalant to navy commander now even im confussed
    By the way, did I tell you, I was "Mad"?
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